


The Lion & The Dragon

by DreadWolfSong



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 02:04:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13870788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadWolfSong/pseuds/DreadWolfSong
Summary: When Commander Cullen Rutherfords first meeting with The Herald goes, in his mind, completely wrong, it sets the tone and gives everyone a light touch of humor that is direly needed in such dark times.





	The Lion & The Dragon

Demons everywhere. As far as he could see, and probably even further than that. It seemed that as soon as he cut one down, another appeared. He tried not to think beyond the next creature that he found on the end of his blade. He turned, just as one of his younger recruits fell, reeling back from the energy push from the rage demon. Running it through, he picked the young woman up, barely pausing to hear her stammering ‘thank you, sir!’ before turning to the next foe. 

Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him, just as Cassandra bellowed “COMMANDER!", her voice slightly panicked. He turned in time to see a stranger setting a demon ablaze, and he suddenly realized they had just saved his life. This must be the survivor from the temple, he mused. He straightened himself and turned to thank her, when she pulled back her hood and…Oh, MAKER. He had heard the whispers, the rumors. Of course he had. He knew that the suspect from the temple disaster was a woman, and an elf, and a mage as well. What Varric-damn him- had NOT told him, however, was that she was so breathtakingly beautiful. Her skin was pale, a scattering of freckles just obvious under her tattoo. Dark, ebony hair cascaded to her shoulders, a few stubborn wisps framing her delicate features. Eyes so dark and green, a green he’d never seen before, a green he could get lost in. Her lips were dark, a deep purple that matched her tattoo; was it lip paint, or did she tattoo her lips as well? His mind wandered, wondering what she looked like when she smiled, when she laughed. 

He felt a sudden pang of loss; Lometa Surana. The eleven mage from The Circle Tower. Dark hair, blue eyes. A smile that could stop even a demon, laughter like singing birds. Taken by Duncan, she had become a Grey Warden. He saw her twice after she left the tower; first when she saved him during the fall of the Tower, and last at her funeral. Despite it being nearly a decade ago, he'd never forgotten their awkward flirtations, could still remember what it felt like to kiss her, what it felt like when she 'escaped' the tower that night, under the guise to get him alone for longer than 5 minutes. They were young, and their passion was fleeting, but that still didn't remove the despair in his heart when she died, it didn't get the memories out of his head any faster. Had he loved her? Maybe, who's to say with the short time they had together. But it had been a very, very long time since a woman pulled at him like this, pulled at him so suddenly and forcefully, like she was currently doing. Bloody Maker, what was wrong with him? Here he was, a man of one and thirty, standing here like a knock-kneed stable boy trying to woo the milk maid. 

 

"I believe introductions are in order." Cassandra barked, looking at him like he'd sprouted wings. Had the commander gone mad? He suddenly went from the powerful, commanding leader of the army, to looking like he couldn’t figure out what to do with his hands. He finally settled on toying with his disheveled hair, causing his companions to look at him like he'd grown a second head. Maker, was Cullen..smitten with the girl? She turned to see Varric and Solas observing as well; Varric wearing that smile he had when he knew he had a good story to tell later, or a good bet to be made. Cassandra couldn't resist a good bet, much to her chagrin, but the question was; who should she bet on to make the first move? Their suddenly awkward commander, or Leyawiin? She glanced at Varric, and the man merely nodded his head at Cullen, pointing first at his coin purse and the himself. Ah, so that's the way it was going to bed then. She nodded in the affirmative, holding her hand to the side and stretching out 4 fingers, signaling the amount of the bet; 4 gold pieces. Varric nodded in kind, holding his entire hand to the side, signaling that he was raising his bet to 5 gold, betting on Cullen. She smirked, then nodded. So subtle was this, that their companions did not catch it; so quick it was, that it barely registered that her and Varric and interacted at all. 

"I can handle myself." The woman snapped, her green eyes flashing. Then they softened, turning to him. Her soft eyes were alert, and wary. Like he excited her and scared her all at once. ‘Maker’, she thought. ’Never saw a shem this tall before. Or this handsome.’ Shaking the thought from her head, she responded. "Names Leyawiin, originally of clan Lavellan. Most people call me Winn, though." 

He liked how she drew out the syllables, the longer pronunciation briefly reminding him of Wynne, the kindly older mage woman from his time in the circle. It was clearly not an elven name, but it suited her in it’s unique cadence. 'Such a lovely name', he thought. 'Seems almost a pity to use anything else to refer to such a magnificent woman.' Cullen had no idea that he had spoken aloud, until her cheeks reddened, and Varric started barking with laughter. He stood rooted to the spot, mortified. Muttering something about troop formations, he left Cassandra in charge, excusing himself and telling Leyawiin that he would brief her in the war room later. Hurrying away, Varrics laughter was still ringing in his ears. Maker, what had he gotten himself into?

If only Cullen had stayed, he would have seen Cassandra palm Varric a handful of coins, a bet made; he would have seen Wiins face, the red tinge slowly creeping out of her cheeks, an odd smile on her face; lastly, he would have seen Solas’s eyes flash in anger, his mouth flatten into a straight line. Or, maybe he wouldn’t have seen that, as it appeared that only Varric saw this. 

Varric looked from Chuckles, to Curly’s retreating back, to the womans still pink face. He shook the coins in his hand, and laughed. OH, was this going to be good.


End file.
